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PMID: 34101183 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

To what extent can rising [CO2 ] ameliorate plant drought stress?

The New phytologist ·Vol. 231 ·No. 6 ·2021-00-00 ·Pages 2118-2124

De Kauwe MG, Medlyn BE, Tissue DT

Abstract

Plant responses to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO2 ) have been hypothesized as a key mechanism that may ameliorate the impact of future drought. Yet, despite decades of experiments, the question of whether eCO2 reduces plant water use, yielding 'water savings' that can be used to maintain plant function during periods of water stress, remains unresolved. In this Viewpoint, we identify the experimental challenges and limitations to our understanding of plant responses to drought under eCO2 . In particular, we argue that future studies need to move beyond exploring whether eCO2 played 'a role' or 'no role' in responses to drought, but instead more carefully consider the timescales and conditions that would induce an influence. We also argue that considering emergent differences in soil water content may be an insufficient means of assessing the impact of eCO2 . We identify eCO2 impact during severe drought (e.g. to the point of mortality), interactions with future changes in vapour pressure deficit and uncertainty about changes in leaf area as key gaps in our current understanding. New insights into CO2  × drought interactions are essential to better constrain model theory that governs future climate model projections of land-atmosphere interactions during periods of water stress.

Keywords
drought drought mortality dry-down elevated CO2 water savings
MeSH Terms
Carbon Dioxide Droughts Plant Leaves/chemistry Soil Water
Chemicals
Soil Water Carbon Dioxide
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
De Kauwe Martin G ORCID
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. | Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Medlyn Belinda E ORCID
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
Tissue David T ORCID
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
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Article Info
Journal
The New phytologist
Abbr.
New Phytol
ISSN
1469-8137
DOI
10.1111/nph.17540
Published
2021-00-00
Epub
2021-00-28
Pages
2118-2124
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
9882884
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1111/nph.17540 View journal details
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